The Martin Luther King Day holiday is today. In a historic coincidence—or, more accurately, a harmonic convergence—the second inauguration of the nation’s first black president is also today.

And to prove the true significance of the day in American culture, as we have come to know and understand our national holidays … there’s sports on TV all day.

The Memphis Grizzlies always play host to a game on Martin Luther King Day, because of the city's importance in King's life and untimely and unfortunate death. (AP Photo)

An entire generation has now grown up with the third Monday in January as a holiday to honor Dr. King—the same honor with the same weight and due respect that Washington and Lincoln got, and, of course, the same day off that citizens get for Christmas and Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving, of course, belongs to the NFL, and everybody gives thanks for the chance to make fun of the Lions and take sides for or against the Cowboys. As mentioned last month, Christmas is now the NBA’s day. The Fourth of July is baseball (with a fireworks show after the final out, of course). Labor Day tells you college and pro football are on the doorstep.

It’s how the country celebrates, acknowledging the reasons for the day, but also enjoying the day the way it should be: plopping in front of a set and turning on a game, or cursing at someone who’s trying to do it.

Such is the holiday honoring this American hero. It’s now entrenched in our consciousness. Dr. King is honored with parades, breakfasts and solemn services in his memory. For the past two holidays, there are also pilgrimages to his memorial on the Mall in Washington—a special target this year with President Obama’s inauguration just down the street on the same day.

But the rest of the day, starting an hour after Obama took the oath of office at the Capitol and stretching well past midnight? A basketball smorgasbord.

— NBA scores: Tracking live all of today's MLK gamesThe NBA scheduled nine games, six of them afternoon starts, four to be nationally televised, and one played annually in Memphis—the city in which King was assassinated in 1968 at the Lorraine Motel, now serving as the National Civil Rights Museum. The Grizzlies are hosting the Indiana Pacers to start the basketball marathon, and, as is the case at all the holiday games, the home team and players on both teams will honor the importance of the day before and during the game.

Lately, the practice has been adopted by college basketball. There are four high-profile men’s games and three similar women’s games on the various ESPN networks scheduled, starting again in the afternoon (on a day that’s either a holiday on most campuses, or during semester break and uninterrupted by classes). There will also be two rare national-TV exposures of historically-black college games, Savannah State hosting Bethune-Cookman and Alabama A&M hosting Southern.

It’s no surprise that the NBA laid down the template for making the King holiday something special—and not just because it was ahead of the other major leagues in adding players, coaches, executives and owners of color.

In the late 1980s, when local, state and national politicians fought proposals to make the day a national holiday (and before the NFL pulled the Super Bowl out of Phoenix because of Arizona’s resistance), the NBA had quietly decided that Arizona would not get its important business until it fell in line on the issue.

That economic pressure helped bring change—and it served notice that the NBA treated its players, who were and are more than three-quarters African-American, and its predominant fan base, with the respect they and their heroes deserved.

To make the holiday happen is one thing, though. To make it a part of the nation’s fabric is something else.

Making Martin Luther King Day matinee games a destination for sports fans, in person and at home, have gone a long way toward establishing that. The Knicks have played an afternoon game at Madison Square Garden on the holiday for years. The current streak is 14 years, including today’s game against their new city rivals, the Nets (predating Memphis joining the NBA in 2001, actually).

But they actually go back earlier than that. The 1990 game, in fact, was also the birthday of what’s known as the Trent Tucker rule (he was the last player to get away with catching and shooting a game-winning jumper with 0.1 seconds left on the clock). The subsequent rule, about not being able to do that under 0.3 seconds, is known by heart by all NBA fans. So is the notion that Martin Luther King Day is special.

Now, it’s rare that afternoon home games are not held in these cities: New York, Memphis, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Oakland (Golden State). Normally, Washington would have one as well. There isn’t one this season; the Wizards are on a West Coast trip.

It’s highly unlikely that it’s a coincidence. Today is a little busy in the nation’s capital. Even if the Wizards were not 8-30, it would be hard for them to draw a crowd, or attention, from the events downtown.

The reminders are all about that this is far from an ordinary day. The signs of the progress that grew from King’s work and sacrifice are impossible to miss. That’s something that won’t be taken for granted anywhere in the near future. The mere presence of this holiday, the nationwide celebrations, and the special event at the Capitol, were all unfathomable barely three decades ago.

On the other hand … Martin Luther King Day is now also part of a grand tradition. It’s a day to veg out, eat and watch the games.